# 85% of kids' drinks and snacks tested have lead in them. Tell me why I shouldn't be freaking out. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 15, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/85-of-kids-drinks-and-snacks-tested-have-lead-in-them-tell-me-why-i-shouldnt-be-freaking-out/543312 "2010-06-15T17:00:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![pericynthion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/85e7bf/32.png) [@pericynthion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pericynthion)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/85-of-kids-drinks-and-snacks-tested-have-lead-in-them-tell-me-why-i-shouldnt-be-freaking-out/543312/21 "2010-06-15T21:19:56Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I don’t follow… Pear juice _is_ sugar syrup. Oh, but it’s _natural_ sugar syrup. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Tethered\_Kite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/85-of-kids-drinks-and-snacks-tested-have-lead-in-them-tell-me-why-i-shouldnt-be-freaking-out/543312/22 "2010-06-15T21:30:53Z")
Nearly one third of children in the USA are considered obese and probably should be eating carrots for snacks. So - whole foods, healthy snacks and save the prepackaged processed stuff for treats - if you could call all those chemicals a treat. This is also more economical. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/85-of-kids-drinks-and-snacks-tested-have-lead-in-them-tell-me-why-i-shouldnt-be-freaking-out/543312/23 "2010-06-15T21:32:13Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I don’t follow… Pear juice _is_ sugar syrup. Pear juice is sugar syrup with Vitamin C and Potassium, at least. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/85-of-kids-drinks-and-snacks-tested-have-lead-in-them-tell-me-why-i-shouldnt-be-freaking-out/543312/24 "2010-06-15T21:52:39Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > [Inhabitat | Design For a Better World!](http://www.inhabitots.com/2010/06/11/85-of-kids-drinks-snacks-could-contain-high-levels-of-lead/) > > Is Prop 65 ridiculously strict? Is there some reason to doubt this testing lab? Considering that these products are marketed to and disproportionately consumed by small children, there isn’t \*any \*safe level of lead for them to consume, is there? Paging **Cyn** to GQ. She is involved in lead level monitoring in preschool age children… ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/85-of-kids-drinks-and-snacks-tested-have-lead-in-them-tell-me-why-i-shouldnt-be-freaking-out/543312/25 "2010-06-15T23:19:33Z")
Pear juice is sugar _water_. Sugar syrup, especially heavy syrup, is several servings of pear juice. Furthermore, the sticky syrup sticks to the fruit and is eaten: thinner juice in more likely thrown away. Just because 16 oz of juice every morning is a bad idea (which it is) does not mean that 2 oz of pear juice is also a bad idea. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/85-of-kids-drinks-and-snacks-tested-have-lead-in-them-tell-me-why-i-shouldnt-be-freaking-out/543312/26 "2010-06-15T23:40:03Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > Pear juice is sugar _water_. Thanks **Manda JO**. I decided to look up the numbers. [Peaches in heavy syrup](http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-lowes-foods-peach-slices-heavy-i120384), 128g: Calories 100 Sodium 10mg Sugars 23.0g [Peaches in pear juice](http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-calkins-burke-peaches-pear-juice-i101332), 150g: Calories 50 Sodium 5mg Sugars 10.0g So, yeah, like I said, bonus points for pear juice. Even a larger serving size is fewer calories, less sodium and less sugar than the heavy syrup stuff. So :rolleyes: right back atcha, **pericynthion**. I never said a word about “natural” being better, thanks. Still don’t know if canned peaches have more lead in them than fresh ones, though. (Even I could even get a fresh one that tasted of peach around here, which I can’t.) ---
**Author:** ![j\_sum1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8baadc/32.png) [@j\_sum1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j_sum1)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/85-of-kids-drinks-and-snacks-tested-have-lead-in-them-tell-me-why-i-shouldnt-be-freaking-out/543312/27 "2010-06-16T00:14:12Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Pear juice is sugar syrup with Vitamin C and Potassium, at least. Pear juice also contains a pretty good amount of fibre. The sugar content of natural fruit juices has an upper limit. Not so for sucrose syrups that fruit is often preserved in. (well, you know what i mean…) That’s probably enough for me to vote in favour of pear juice. ---
**Author:** ![Visual\_Purple](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/5daacb/32.png) [@Visual\_Purple](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Visual_Purple)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/85-of-kids-drinks-and-snacks-tested-have-lead-in-them-tell-me-why-i-shouldnt-be-freaking-out/543312/28 "2010-06-16T00:15:53Z")
Borrowed from a posting of mine elsewhere: I’m going to speculate about mode of contamination; I’d be interested if someone knows better. I do know for a certainty that before the introduction of organic (chemical sense, carbon-containing) pesticides, the pesticides used on orchards were often lead-, copper-, and arsenic-based. I also know that these remain for years in many soils. (I think that really sandy soil may leach clean.) The good places for orchards aren’t all that common. If something is an orchard now, there’s a good chance it was in the bad old days and has contaminated soil. I have heard that most fruit trees are pretty good in not taking up metals. The thus fruit won’t be contaminated by the tree itself. However, any dirt that gets onto the fruit will be lead-laced; probably arsenic-laced too. The answer may be nothing more complex than some contamination with orchard-floor soil. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/85-of-kids-drinks-and-snacks-tested-have-lead-in-them-tell-me-why-i-shouldnt-be-freaking-out/543312/29 "2010-06-16T02:23:48Z")
> [@j\_sum1](#): > > Pear juice also contains a pretty good amount of fibre.. Cite? OJ has almost 0 fiber, unless it has all the pulp. Pears have a decent amount of fiber, I doubt if pear _juice_ does. This site: [http://www.dietaryfiberfood.com/low-fiber.php](http://www.dietaryfiberfood.com/low-fiber.php) shows pears _in_ juice to be only 1.5 grams, while _whole pears_ have 6gr. I suspect pear juice to have almost none. To be fair, that’s true of most juices- appleas have a fair amount of fiber, but apple juice has little: > **[University of Maine Cooperative Extension](https://extension.umaine.edu)** > > Your doorway to University of Maine expertise: practical, locally-based solutions for farmers, small business owners, kids, parents, consumers, and others. \*"The chart compares the fiber content in a medium-sized, raw apple with skin; 1/2 cup of applesauce and 3/4 cup apple juice. raw apple - 3.25 grams fiber applesauce - 1.5 grams fiber apple juice - .33 gram fiber\*" They are using (from what I can tell) the non-clear apple juice, as \*clear \*apple juice has no real fiber at all. I suspect that pear juice has about 1/10th the fiber as a whole pear with skin, just as with apples. Or even less. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/85-of-kids-drinks-and-snacks-tested-have-lead-in-them-tell-me-why-i-shouldnt-be-freaking-out/543312/30 "2010-06-16T02:35:31Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Thanks **Manda JO**. I decided to look up the numbers. > > [Peaches in heavy syrup](http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-lowes-foods-peach-slices-heavy-i120384), 128g: > Calories 100 > Sodium 10mg > Sugars 23.0g > > [Peaches in pear juice](http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-calkins-burke-peaches-pear-juice-i101332), 150g: > Calories 50 > Sodium 5mg > Sugars 10.0g > > So, yeah, like I said, bonus points for pear juice. Even a larger serving size is fewer calories, less sodium and less sugar than the heavy syrup stuff. You are comparing Heavy Syrup to light syrup, the heavy stuff simply has less water. Try comparing light corn syrup to honey. Honey has far more calories per cup, as it has less water. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/85-of-kids-drinks-and-snacks-tested-have-lead-in-them-tell-me-why-i-shouldnt-be-freaking-out/543312/31 "2010-06-16T02:52:33Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > You are comparing Heavy Syrup to light syrup, the heavy stuff simply has less water. Try comparing light corn syrup to honey. Honey has far more calories per cup, as it has less water. I don’t understand your comment. Of course heavy syrup has less water than pear juice (I never mentioned light syrup, actually). That’s why it has more calories and sugar, gram for gram. I’m comparing peaches in heavy syrup to peaches in pear juice, two common forms of canned fruits available in the grocery store which are often eaten by children. It was suggested I had a problem with fruit in heavy syrup because the sugar in it is not “natural” - which is absurd, of course it’s natural. Corn syrup and granulated sugar are both “natural”, and I have no beef with chemical ingredients, _per se_, anyhow. I prefer fruit in pear juice _because it has less calories, sodium and sugar_ than fruit in heavy syrup, per serving size. ---
**Author:** ![j\_sum1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8baadc/32.png) [@j\_sum1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j_sum1)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/85-of-kids-drinks-and-snacks-tested-have-lead-in-them-tell-me-why-i-shouldnt-be-freaking-out/543312/32 "2010-06-16T03:58:55Z")
[quote=“DrDeth, post:29, topic:543312”] Cite? OJ has almost 0 fiber, unless it has all the pulp. Pears have a decent amount of fiber, I doubt if pear _juice_ does. Good point – have no cite other than the following: My wife was recently in a hospital – maternity ward. The staff there recommended unclarified pear juice as a source of fibre and it was made readily available. The whole pregnancy/birth thing is a bit rough on the digestive system and fibre was seen as part of the solution. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/85-of-kids-drinks-and-snacks-tested-have-lead-in-them-tell-me-why-i-shouldnt-be-freaking-out/543312/33 "2010-06-16T04:30:05Z")
[quote=“j\_sum1, post:32, topic:543312”] > [@DrDeth](#): > > Cite? OJ has almost 0 fiber, unless it has all the pulp. Pears have a decent amount of fiber, I doubt if pear _juice_ does. > > Good point – have no cite other than the following: > My wife was recently in a hospital – maternity ward. The staff there recommended unclarified pear juice as a source of fibre and it was made readily available. The whole pregnancy/birth thing is a bit rough on the digestive system and fibre was seen as part of the solution. Ah, note “unclarified pear juice”. It’s not a bad source, neither is OJ with all the pulp. Neither are used in kids drinks. WhyNot, yes, but it’s not due to the pear juice, it’s due to the amount of water. Try peaches in \*light \*syrup. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/85-of-kids-drinks-and-snacks-tested-have-lead-in-them-tell-me-why-i-shouldnt-be-freaking-out/543312/34 "2010-06-16T11:40:52Z")
150 grams of pears [in light syrup](http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-calkins-burke-pears-light-syrup-i101333): 80 calories, 5 mg sodium, 15 grams sugar. That’s 60% more calories than the pears in pear juice. You are right, it’s all about water content, but that’s pretty much always true: you could say that chocolate has more calories than carrots because it has less water. Giving your kid apple juice instead of coke is not doing him many favors. Giving him fruit in juice instead of syrup is a significantly different substitution. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/85-of-kids-drinks-and-snacks-tested-have-lead-in-them-tell-me-why-i-shouldnt-be-freaking-out/543312/35 "2010-06-16T11:54:24Z")
D’oh! You guys switched to peaches at some point! But the [numbers](http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-dole-sliced-peaches-light-syrup-i92297)are the same. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/85-of-kids-drinks-and-snacks-tested-have-lead-in-them-tell-me-why-i-shouldnt-be-freaking-out/543312/36 "2010-06-16T13:04:42Z")
> [@Renee](#): > > I know tilapia is farmed in the US, sent to China for packaging, then sent back here to be sold. Do you have a cite for that? It just seems completely uneconomical to ship fish 15-20k miles round trip just to gut & clean them. ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/85-of-kids-drinks-and-snacks-tested-have-lead-in-them-tell-me-why-i-shouldnt-be-freaking-out/543312/37 "2010-06-16T13:31:07Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > 85% of kids’ drinks and snacks tested have lead in them. Tell me why I shouldn’t be freaking out. ? Because you haven’t made any effort (based on this hyperbole, anyway) to rank all the other risks in your family’s lives and decide where this level of lead exposure falls, relatively speaking. While it’s fun to panic about all these assorted environmental “toxins,” it would not appear they are anything close to ordinary risks, such as riding around in cars or sitting on one’s fat ass (not necessarily yours) drinking raw milk, or listening to the “non-profit” Environmental Law Foundation. I say you should be worrying about the urchin’s exposure to school bus diesel, or else his predilection for potato chips. It’s a toxic jungle out there. ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/85-of-kids-drinks-and-snacks-tested-have-lead-in-them-tell-me-why-i-shouldnt-be-freaking-out/543312/38 "2010-06-16T14:17:54Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > Do you have a cite for that? It just seems completely uneconomical to ship fish 15-20k miles round trip just to gut & clean them. Not specific to your point but highlights the issues. Here in the UK we have scampi (langoustines / prawns) which are caught in Scotland then shipped to Thailand for processing before being shipped back to Scotland for distribution in the UK. That’s a round trip of _12000 miles_, but it works out much cheaper to send the scampi all that way for hand-peeling rather than employing local workers in Scotland. Utter madness but such is the world. > **[BBC NEWS | UK | Scotland | South of Scotland | 12,000-mile scampi trip condemned](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/south_of_scotland/6150240.stm)** > > Plans to send Scottish seafood to Thailand to be peeled before being sold in the UK are slammed. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/85-of-kids-drinks-and-snacks-tested-have-lead-in-them-tell-me-why-i-shouldnt-be-freaking-out/543312/39 "2010-06-16T14:36:03Z")
> [@Chief\_Pedant](#): > > Because you haven’t made any effort (based on this hyperbole, anyway) to rank all the other risks in your family’s lives and decide where this level of lead exposure falls, relatively speaking. Well, that’s the thing…I’m trying to \*determine \*what level of risk this actually is, so I can do that. Thus far, I’ve discovered that lead exists in all fresh produce at a level that the FDA says is not worth worrying about. OK, so I won’t, unless someone can show me they’re wrong. According to the regulations set by California, many of the products exceed what they consider to be a safe level. Is that level truly a realistic harm? That’s what I still don’t know. I want someone who knows more than I do to weigh in on: A) is the California lead level limit reflective of that set by the FDA? If not, is it a realistic level reflecting health risks the FDA is glossing over, or is it an unrealistic level that’s not truly attainable?? B) Is it likely that there was some testing error here, based on the technique or reputation of this lab? C) Is the level of lead in these processed products more or less than the level of lead in the source foods, or greater? D) If yes to C, why or how did the excess lead get there? Concentration? Contamination? I absolutely understand that I can’t reduce my child’s (or my) risk to zero, and I’m not interested in doing so. I am interested in reducing it as low as practically possible. Considering that I live in a large city in a series of old buildings for the last 10 years, I expect our heavy metal exposure is already higher than average, so I want to make the best food choices possible so as not to add to that load more than I have to. And yes, the title was hyperbole, of course. That’s what makes it an attention getting title, to draw people who might actually know more about this stuff when I do. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/85-of-kids-drinks-and-snacks-tested-have-lead-in-them-tell-me-why-i-shouldnt-be-freaking-out/543312/40 "2010-06-16T14:45:56Z")
> [@Wallenstein](#): > > Not specific to your point but highlights the issues. > > Here in the UK we have scampi (langoustines / prawns) which are caught in Scotland then shipped to Thailand for processing before being shipped back to Scotland for distribution in the UK. > > That’s a round trip of _12000 miles_, but it works out much cheaper to send the scampi all that way for hand-peeling rather than employing local workers in Scotland. > > Utter madness but such is the world. > > [BBC NEWS | Scotland | South of Scotland | 12,000-mile scampi trip condemned](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/south_of_scotland/6150240.stm) I would imagine shipping to countries that are net exporters is really very, very cheap: all those containers have to go back anyway, to get filled up with $4 T-shirts and toys. And if “normal” shipping charges back are efficient for $4 t-shirts, why not fish and prawns? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/85-of-kids-drinks-and-snacks-tested-have-lead-in-them-tell-me-why-i-shouldnt-be-freaking-out/543312.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/85-of-kids-drinks-and-snacks-tested-have-lead-in-them-tell-me-why-i-shouldnt-be-freaking-out/543312.md?page=3)